A Budget for the future. A step in the direction of a more fiscally sustainable and efficient Ireland. So you’d have been led to believe if you’d listened to either the Minister for Finance or the Minister for Public Expenditure uncritically yesterday during their presentation of the Budget.
The rhetoric was impressive, and if it had been substantiated, you’d have had a very impressive Budget on your hands indeed. The trouble is that the words paid mere lip service to the ideals of budgetary prudence, while delivering more of the rampant spending that’s had red lights flashing on the dashboard since the country left austerity behind.